Sex Criminals: Two Worlds, One Cop, Matt Fraction, Chip Zdarsky
No, really, what the hell am I reading?
I like that this discusses depression. I like that Suzie and Jon aren’t automatically super happy forever just because they can both stop time with their orgasms. I like that Jon goes to therapy, and the first therapist doesn’t do him much good, and that the one who does begin to help (and it is only beginning) is idiosyncratically suited to him. That’s the way it works. (I’m not as keen on the exhortation to get out there and exercise ’cause that’ll fix it. It’s true for some people. It’s not always true, and it’s not always possible.) I like the portrayal of Jon’s depression where he goes all grey and there’s a bad Jon-voice telling him everything’s terrible, and the meds level him out and take the edge off everything. That, too, rings true.
It’s also cool that the porn star from the first book is fleshed out a bit, and has a whole backstory of her own and a relevance to the plot. Also cool that female sexual health is a key thing, and that it acknowledges that not all women like the same stuff, just as they don’t think or act the same way. Whether they’re porn stars or not.
The plot, though? The timeline is all over the place, Jon is kinda creepy sometimes, and I just do not care about all this sex. And it’s difficult to root for people who’re using secret powers to rob banks, however noble the cause — or at least, it’s difficult to find someone trying to stop them totally evil.
I think there’s two strikes against me and this comic here: one, I don’t have that kind of sense of humour. We’re pretty sure I have one, but you need a microscope. This is not the kind of humour that works for me, nor the kind of weird that I find interesting. And two, I’m ace, and I just do not understand the appeal of all this sex. I don’t know if that’s playing into my lack of shits about this series, but probably.
Rating: 2/5
I’m ace too and wondered if that was part of why I didn’t care for this series, but I’ve found erotic fanfic and kinks interesting. I honestly just don’t think this is interesting. I think it’s a weird, juvenile portrayal of sex that takes us no where for no reason. I mean, it’s vanilla sex that’s just supposed to be awesome because it’s sex. That sounds pretty boring to me.
Yeah, it can be interesting when there’s something more than the sex, but not… sex for the sake of sex, which is what this series seems to revolve around. And geez, do people really think about sex that much? Thank goodness I’m ace, I don’t know how they get things done!